


Love and Strife

by ImOnlyHuman21



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Clack, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, M/M, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:35:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23983168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImOnlyHuman21/pseuds/ImOnlyHuman21
Summary: Everything Cloud is and has, he owes to Zack Fair’s unwavering support and loyalty. Zack well...he never knew that one person could become your everything.A series of linked one shots with an overarching plot focusing on Cloud and Zack’s friendship as it evolves to love, AU and def not canon compliant.
Relationships: Angeal Hewley/Genesis Rhapsodos/Sephiroth, Tifa Lockhart & Cloud Strife, Zack Fair & Aerith Gainsborough, Zack Fair & Angeal Hewley, Zack Fair/Cloud Strife
Comments: 13
Kudos: 93





	1. Chapter 1

Zack Fair would never forget the day he met Cloud Strife.

  
It had seemed like a day that would be like any other in the routine orientated life of the military. He woke at 6am sharp, showered, went to have breakfast, made small talk with a very grumpy, non-morning person that was Genesis ... _or was Gen just always a prickly pear?_ The thought had made him snort which he did a terrible job of trying to play off as a cough, which got him a raised eyebrow from the man in question. He flashed him his best innocent smile and excused himself to go to his 7am training session with Angeal.

  
They did the same warm ups they had done every morning since Angeal had taken him under his wing what felt like forever ago, and even though Zack was a SOLDIER second class now and really didn’t _need_ this type of mentoring anymore, he would never stop wanting Angeal’s guidance, everything that he was now he owed to this man where would I be if he hadn’t seen whatever he saw in me?

  
He never really got to ponder that thought anymore when he received a particularly stinging tap with the flat of the training blades they were training with “Are you alright pup? Your body seems to be here but your mind does not” Angeal’s voice was his usual calm tone but Zack could hear the ever so slight curiosity that coloured it. He shot him one of his thousand watt smiles.

  
“Guess I was a little caught up in my thoughts! Sorry Ange!”

  
“Anything you want to share?”

  
“I was just thinking how far Id come s’all, and that its all thanks to you! I guess...I just wanted you to know” he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, realising he probably should have told the other man this way before now. The fondness that shined in his mentors eyes told him that later was better than never!

  
“You are my proudest achievement pup” his heart swelled hearing that.

  
“What did you see in me? There was guys there with serious skills that this country boy could only have dreamt of back then!” Angeal just chuckled and replied simply

  
“Spirit”.

  
“Spirit? What do ya mean?” It was genuinely not the answer he was expecting.

  
“A soldiers worth isn’t just in his physical ability alone, much of that can be trained, there are just some things that cant be...You’ll understand someday” he added that last part after no doubt seeing the confusion written all over Zack’s face, although honestly it made it more cryptic not less!

  
They didn’t speak anymore about it for the rest of their training, Angeal had obviously said everything he was going to say on the subject, he often left Zack with things to ponder, believing lessons were better learnt through self discovery than constant hand holding, a push in the right direction rather than spoon feeding.

  
When Angeal had excused himself to other duties, Zack had remained behind to use some of the VR simulators, he had been trying to fight and beat the VR version of Sephiroth for quite awhile now, but no matter what he tried, digital Seph wiped the floor with him. Every. Single. Time! He had been trying for several weeks now, anyone else would have long got disheartened and quit by now, but that just wasn’t his style. If he wanted to be a First, he had to fight like a First.

  
At lunch he met up with his friend Kunsel, who was as usual, desperately trying to convince Zack to have a night on the town.

  
“Come on man you used to always be down! I don’t want boring SOLDIER Zack Fair right now can I speak to the fun party animal Zack please!” He whined, but it was all in good fun.

  
“Party Zack cant come to the phone right now, he’s dead, I killed him”

  
“Then I shall avenge him” he held up his fist in a dramatic pose and held it a moment, before they both burst out into laughter.

  
“But seriously man it could be fun, have some drinks, find some sexy people to party with” he waggled his eyebrows suggestively at Zack, who rolled his eyes good naturedly.

  
“I told you man, I just feel like Im done with all that now”

  
“Is it cause of that Aerith girl you were seeing for awhile, cause you need to get over her and this is the way!”

  
Zack sighed “You know its not like that, we realised we were better as friends and we still are! It just...taught me some stuff is s’all”

  
“Like what? How to waste all that natural charm you have? Zack man you have half the girls _AND_ some boys pining after you when you flash them that smile!” Strangely enough hearing that brings on the exact smile they are talking about.

  
“Nah is just...having a crush and having that crush returned is...worth waiting for. No hook up could compare” Zack shrugged, trying to play off the seriously mature comment he just made!

  
“Oh _gaia_ she turned you into a romantic! If you start quoting Loveless imma have to stage an intervention” they laughed and Zack leaned forward conspiratorially

  
“Well ya kno Gen did give me a copy as a congrats for making second!” Kunsel gasped

  
“No way me too!”

  
“What?! And I thought I was special!” Zack held his heart with mock pain and his friend almost doubled over at their antics.

  
“But seriously man think about it? For me?”

  
“Il make you a deal, if you can outrun me on the treadmill at the gym, Il go out tonight” _there is NO way he can win._

  
“Deal!”

* * *

  
Zack’s confidence wasn’t misplaced, he beat Kunsel easily.

  
“Its not fair! It wasn’t a fair bet! You know I suck at cardio!”

  
“You don’t suck at it, you just hate it and give up quick cause of it” he flashed his friend a cheeky grin.

  
They were just leaving the gym when they heard the distinct sound of some sort of confrontation with their mako enhanced hearing coming from a nearby corridor they raced towards it and turned a corner to be confronted with the sight of four cadets picking on a fifth cadet that seemed shorter and skinnier than the rest of them

  
“Where you off too pretty boy”

  
“The gym.” the short blond replied curtly, trying to force his way past only for them to block him off again

  
“The gym is for real men, not for scrawny little nobodies” The cadet that seemed to be the ringleader taunted.

  
“I heard pretty boy signed up for the SOLDIER trials in a couple weeks time” another said

  
“Only way your getting into SOLDIER is if you sleep with the examiner pretty boy”

  
“And all the FIRSTS to boot”

  
The patience of the blonde cadet must have snapped cause in that moment he started swinging, and it was a fight he definitely wasn’t going to win. By the time Zack and Kunsel had raced down the rest of the corridor to break it up the smaller boy had already taken several hits.

  
“That is ENOUGH!” Zack basically roared, feeling a level of anger he had never felt. All 5 cadets split apart immediately at the commanding voice and four in particular paled when they saw just who it had come from, The short blonde clearly had a cut lip and he refused to make eye contact, but Zack could see the stubborn way he held his jaw up in a way that suggested he didn’t want to appear weak.

  
“Does anyone care to explain themselves?!” He was all business now, many people saw Zack as the friendly, happy go lucky type so when he was like this they knew to be careful.

  
“Sir, we were just trying to be friendly with cadet Strife and he started throwing punches Sir!” The _dumb as rocks_ ringleader managed to bark out, did they think he was born yesterday?! Seems Kunsel wondered the same thing and beat Zack to the punch

  
“Bullshit. How stupid do you think we are? Seemed to me four _cowards_ were throwing their weight around targeting a lone cadet that was minding his own business.”

  
“Sir we never threw the first pun-” Zack cut this idiot off this time

  
“You wanted to cause a fight and you got one. Tell me cadet what do you think General Sephiroth would make of your implication that he would help recruits get into SOLDIER by warming his bed?” All four of the bullies looked like they wanted to throw up, obviously unaware just how much the two had heard.

  
“We..we were just kidding around sir” 

  
“I will escort you four back to your dorms where we will see what your dorm captain thinks of your jokes” Kunsel said with clear contempt, gesturing for them to move as he followed behind them. 

  
Zack stayed behind with the blond cadet, taking a good luck at cadet... _Strife was it? Fitting name_. The shorter boy had the most spikey blond hair that framed his angular face just right, but it was when those bright blue eyes finally met Zacks that got the idea just why the other boys had called him pretty _the word doesn’t even do him justice,_ he very nearly took Zack’s breath away. He could tell from the cadets body language he desperately wanted to make an exit himself, the SOLDIER gave the younger boy his friendliest smile and the stiff shoulders lowered just a little bit.

  
“That cut looks nasty, come on their should be a first aid kit at the gym” he gave the younger boy a friendly pat on the shoulder as a way to guide him in the right direction”

  
“Really Sir you don’t have to do that I...I don’t want to cause any more trouble” the cadet was trying his best to keep his voice steady but the stumble spoke volumes to Zack.

  
“I get the feeling trouble just follows you like a magnet ey Spike” he grinned at the newly christened Spike and could have sworn the boy’s cheeks darkened just a little bit.

  
“I don’t mean it to sir” it was almost said with a sigh.

  
The gym was fairly empty and Zack got the cadet to sit on one of the bench press machines while he went and got the first aid kit he knew they kept behind the reception desk, he came back and kneeled in front of the other boy, putting them now at a closer height, now looking directly in line with those stunning blue eyes.

  
“If I had a healing materia this would all be over in a second but they don’t let us carry those around everywhere so its the good ole’ fashioned way, sorry!” The SOLDIER gave him an apologetic smile and for the first time Zack could swear the cadets mouth turned upwards ever so slightly, almost unnoticeable to anyone that wasn’t paying the attention that he was. He dabbed some antiseptic onto the cloth and moved to put it on the cut.

  
“This might sting a little” judging by the wince that followed it did but the boy said nothing. Zack worked in silence for a few moments before it got the better of him, it wasn’t that it was uncomfortable it was more that Zack was too curious for his own good sometimes.

  
“Are they like that a lot with you Spike?”

  
“Cloud” Zack blinked at the response, confused.

  
“My name. Its Cloud.” _Cloud Strife, theres something pretty about it,_ Zack thought to himself.

  
“Oh, well nice to meet you Cloud! Im Zack!” He beamed that they seemed to be moving forward.

  
“I know who you are trust me” Cloud replied, the small shy smile dampening what otherwise would have seemed blunt. _Damn, he should smile more_ Zack thought.

  
“Oh are you a fan?! Am I as heroic as you thought?” He posed with his hands on his hips and looking off into the distance heroically, well...as best as he could while kneeling down.

  
“Meh I was always more a Sephiroth fan myself” Cloud deadpanned, but his eyes shined with amusement. Zack guffawed and ruffled Clouds hair affectionately.

  
“Il win you over yet Spike, I can tell we are gonna be friends!”

* * *

  
Zack Fair was....something else.

  
Thats all Cloud can think as this stranger that he’s heard so much about and admired from afar laughs and jokes with him and gives him a nickname and declares they are gonna be friends, and honestly...Cloud can _see_ it. There is just something so infectious about Zack’s energy that Cloud cant help but feel himself relaxing, the man radiates positivity and friendliness, he is supposed to be Clouds superior and yet here he was looking after his busted lip and pulling dorky poses and just basically dragging Cloud out of his shell.

  
Cause if you asked any of Clouds dorm mates or immediate superiors, they would tell you that Cloud was a difficult person to try and be friends with, mainly keeping to himself and very rarely trying to engage with his fellow cadets. That he was a loner that lacked social skills and came across as cold and unapproachable. But _Zack_...5 minutes in this guys company and Cloud was making jokes and smiling more than he had in the past month!

  
“You never answered the question you know” Zack’s tone sobered up the atmosphere somewhat, it suggested he knew it was a delicate subject.

  
“I...they...Im not good at making friends, and Im...not as physically fit as they are, I struggle a little with the physical exercises. It makes me a target.” He tried to shrug like it was no big deal, like it didn’t make him sound as pathetic as he felt. It didn’t succeed if Zack’s frown was anything to go by, he looked like he was thinking about something before he spoke again.

  
“Don’t let them get to you, muscles can be built up over time, a SOLDIER is more than just his physical strength.” Zack smiled, but whether it was at Cloud or at what he had been thinking of before he spoke wasn’t clear.

  
“Thank you” he replied simply, not realising how much he needed to hear some encouraging words. Zack’s face lit up and he stood up offering Cloud a hand up

  
“How about we get in some training now? We are already at a gym after all, I can give you some pointers” Cloud bit back the immediate _no thanks_ that instinctually almost came out his mouth, he hated feeling like people were taking pity on him, or that people were having to go out of their way for him. He wanted to prove he could do this on his own, but there was something about the way Zack looked at him, no pity or ulterior motive, no look of exasperation like when Cloud went to his instructors for some extra pointers. He looked like Cloud would be doing him a favour if he said yes.

  
“Uh y-yeah that would be...great, thanks” why was he suddenly nervous again?

  
They spent a good two hours training, first Zack watched Cloud lift some weights to get an idea on his physical strength, and Cloud flushed slightly when Zack praised him and told him he was stronger than his slight frame had originally suggested. Then after getting a general idea he booked Cloud into one of the VR rooms they had at the gym and set Cloud up against a level he thought would challenge Cloud but not overwhelm him, and finally onto the treadmill to test endurance, Zack nodded a long encouragingly throughout all of this and Cloud felt a swell of pride every time he received a compliment. He was both glad and disappointed when it came to an end, exhausted but honestly not quite wanting to part from Zack just yet. It had been nice, he realised...having someone there to encourage and support him, to make it fun and give him good advice rather than just berate him all the time. He was worried that this would be it and they would both return to their separate lives and this would just be a great memory.

  
He needn’t have worried though as Zack unexpectedly pressed a slip of paper with his personal device number on.

  
“Call me anytime you need someone to talk too, or to train with!” The older boy told him, smiling that infectious smile  
Cloud nodded and Zack beamed just that little bit brighter and leaned forward and ruffled Clouds hair.

  
“See ya later Spike!” Zack turned and walked away towards the First Class apartment buildings but not before throwing one last enthusiastic wave in Clouds direction. He just stood and watched his new friends until he disappeared out of sight. _Is that what me and Zack are now? Friends?_ It brought a smile to his face, he had told himself he didn’t need friends here, that he would be fine on his own. But after spending the evening with Zack, he thought maybe all he had needed was a friend this whole time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys just wanted to stress this is AU so I wont be following canon too closely, though at the moment I am still debating whether Seph will go mad or not in this!

Zack had been trying to reach Cloud for hours but he would just _not_ pick up!

  
He knew what that meant of course, Clouds SOLDIER try outs had gone badly and the young cadet must be devastated. Ever since he had met the other boy five weeks ago it had become clear to Zack how much this meant to him, he remembered the determined way the boy spoke about SOLDIER being his dream, but his eyes had given away the fright that he was feeling.

  
_“Soooo you definitely have an accent, you’re a country boy like me right?!” Zack asked out of the blue one day during one of their many meet ups at the gym that had become their thing since they had met. Cloud nodded._

_  
“Nibelheim. What about you?”_

_  
“Ahhhh the cold ass north ey, Im from the beautiful tropical warmth of Gongaga” he looked at Cloud teasingly “we are like total opposites Spike!” It was a joke, but Cloud’s face stayed sombre._

_  
“In a-lot more ways than one” Cloud replied in a serious tone._

_  
“Whaddya mean?”._

_  
“Well I mean just look at you, you...radiate warmth, everybody likes you, Im possibly the most hated cadet that has ever existed” He said it so matter of factly it made Zack bristle that his friend thought of himself like that._

_  
“Spike that is NOT true! You have so much to offer inna friendship! You just need to let people see the you that I see!”_

_  
“Its not that simple”._

_  
“Why not?”._

_  
“Cause its...its easy with you, it basically took the nicest guy on the planet to see something in me worth befriending”._

_  
“You must have had friends back in Nibel?” Cloud practically snorted at that._

_  
“I had one...maybe. Even then we weren’t particularly close. I felt...different from the other kids, not as immature as they were. It was probably for the best, it made leaving easier.”_

_  
“So you left it all behind to join SOLDIER? Maybe we aren’t as different as you think Spike. I left home at 13 to come here, I didn’t even tell my parents!”._

_  
“Then you understand why this is important, I CANT fail this try out. This is all I have to...BE someone, someone worthwhile. Someone like you” The intense way Cloud said that, the way he looked at Zack made him feel all funny inside, it was an honour that his friend shared this with him. He wanted to say so much more on the subject, but he didn’t want to push his new friend to far to soon, the younger boy clearly had problems opening up to people._

_  
“Well we better get back to this training then! We only have two weeks to go till the trials!”_

  
Zack arrived at Clouds dorm room and walked in without so much as knocking, all 3 of Clouds roommates looked momentarily shocked at his appearance then quickly tried their best to stand to attention.

  
“Have any of you seen cadet Strife this evening?”.

  
Two of them barked a quick “No Sir!” And the third one just shook his head, tight lipped. Zack didn’t have time for this.

  
“If you see him tell me to contact me immediately” he basically threw back at them as he exited the room, not a few moments later someone was shouting and running down the hallways after him, it was the head shaker.

  
“Sir I think cadet Strife might be...hiding out in the private training rooms! I know he hires them out till late at night sometimes” the boy stammered out.

  
“Why didn’t you mention this a moment ago??” Zack wondered out loud.

  
“I think he goes there to be alone sir! Its not up to me to take someones solitude away from them, I didn’t think he would appreciate the others knowing thats what he was doing” That was oddly thoughtful of him, Cloud had told him he didn’t get on with his dorm mates, but this young man seemed considerate enough to think of Clouds privacy.

  
“Thank you cadet thats very helpful” the young man goes to turn away as Zack adds “oh and do me a favour...Cloud is going to need a friend to get him through all this. I know he can come across...indifferent, but if you keep at him you’ll find he’s worth the extra effort” Zack worried he was maybe overstepping his mark here and that Cloud may be mad at him when he finds out about this, but the way this boy nodded and promised he would, Zack couldn’t help but feel if it got Cloud another friend then it was worth the risk.

  
“Whats your name cadet?”

  
“Essai, Sir!”

  
Zack gave a quick thanks before rushing off to the training rooms, it turned out Essai’s suspicions had been correct, one of the private training rooms was booked out to _Strife, C._

  
He slipped in quietly to see Cloud lifting a large longsword not dissimilar to Buster, swinging it wildly at the hologram enemies, each one turning red and vanishing when it by a ‘fatal’ blow, from how weary and sloppy Cloud’s swings were becoming he had been at this awhile and fatigue was setting in, his arms shaking from the effort of holding up the much bigger sword.

  
“Cloud” he said softly, not wanting to startle the younger boy too badly, the tip of the sword hit the floor in a heavy swing, and Cloud just stood with his back to Zack, still holding up the handle of the sword but seemingly unable to lift the tip back off the floor. He stepped closer to the distressed boy and within a split second Cloud spun round and threw himself against Zacks chest, and the raven haired SOLDIER quickly wrapped his arms around his friend in a comforting embrace.

  
“Hey there its okay, I got you” he rubbed soothing circles on Clouds back, feeling him tremble against him.

  
“I..I let you down! You spent all t-that time training me..” Zack cut him off.

  
“You did not let me down Spike, and I didn’t help with your training for any other reason than you are my friend and I enjoy spending time with you and I was in a position to help, so don’t ever think it was a waste of time for me or you!”

  
“I tried so hard Zack! I gave this my al...all. I wanted to be like you and Sephiroth, not a nobody infantryman!” Cloud tucked his face into Zacks neck to hide his face.

  
“Hey listen to me, you still will be I _promise_ you, you can apply for the trials again in a couple of months”.

  
“There isn’t any point Zack...its over” he had never heard Cloud sound defeated like this, He had only know the boy a few weeks admittedly, but Cloud had always had a sort of determination about him, rising to every challenge Zack had set during training, never once complaining, willing to put in the work till he was perfect...honestly Zack couldn’t understand how the examiners hadn’t seen the potential in him!

  
“You need some time to cool down, wanna come back to my place for abit?” Cloud slowly pulled away from Zack and nodded.

  
“I really cant face the dorms right now.”

  
He had thought as much, he slung an arm around his friends shoulders and led him to the SOLDIER apartment complex.

* * *

  
This wasn’t how Cloud imagined he would be seeing where the elite SOLDIERS lived, but he buried that thought and the feelings that came with it quickly, he just didn’t have it in him to deal with that right now.

  
Instead he focused on his friend as they got onto the elevator that would take them to Zacks floor. He had been kidding when he had told Zack he wasn’t a fan of him when they first met. It was still amazing to him that the man standing next to him was his friend, had cared enough about him to come find him and comfort him in his lowest moment. It’s honestly confused Cloud greatly...didn’t this guy have like bigger world saving situations to be dealing with? the petty problems of some wide eyed teenager should have been far beneath him. Regardless, Zack opened his apartment and gestured him in with a sweep of his arm.

  
“Please come in my good man” he said in what Cloud assumed was supposed to be a refined gentlemanly accent, he rolled his eyes good naturedly at his friends theatrics.

  
The apartment was spacious and modern looking, with all the latest gadgets a guy could want, no expense spared for Shinra’s best. It was however, a little messy, which totally _screamed_ Zack for some reason. There was paperwork on the coffee table aswell as movie discs and a copy of Loveless, Cloud picked it up with amusement.

  
“I never had you as the romantic novel type, you’re just full of surprises” he teased with mock seriousness, causing Zack to laugh and rub the back of his neck.

  
“You have much to learn my friend! Nahhh Gen gave me a copy as a present and made me promise to read it!”

  
“And have you?”

  
“I keep trying! Its just so...”

  
“Cheesy? Boring? Sleep inducing?” He supplied helpfully.

  
“Well yeah! But don’t ever let Gen hear you say that!” He grinned at Cloud, who couldn’t help the small smile he sent back. 

  
He walked around a little more and saw a little vase with flowers in it near the windowsill, he touched the petals for a moment in awe, he hadn’t seen real flowers since he had moved here, the city was pretty devoid of nature as a whole. 

  
“SOLDIERS can get hold of anything huh?” He turned round to look at Zack who had just flopped down on the couch, his face light up just a little brighter when he saw what Cloud was talking about.

  
“My friend Aerith gives me them whenever I visit her! She lives in the slums and she has like magic plant fingers! Her house is surrounded by flowers its pretty awesome” Cloud frowned slightly, for some reason he suspected Aerith might not just be a _friend_ and he couldn’t understand why that annoyed him.

  
“Anyway if your done being a nosey little chocobo come here so I can kick your ass on this new fighting game I got!” He patted the seat next to him on the sofa.

  
“Oh you are so on!”

  
It turns out they were both super competitive, neither willing to settle for defeat and declaring rematch after rematch until it devolved into downright cheating, from nudging each other, to move spamming, to Zack tickling him before he could deliver a killing blow. It was chaos, but it was _fun_ and it made more of a difference than he had ever thought it would.

  
Zack ordered pizza and they sat and watched one of the terrible cheesy horror movies that he seemed to love and Cloud couldn’t help but deride every couple of minutes.

  
“Why do they always ask ‘who’s there’?! They totally give away the element of surprise they have on the intruder!” Cloud had argued.

  
“Because Spike, _they_ don’t realise they are in a horror movie!”.

  
“Well they should, I mean the killer literally rang them on the phone and asked if they wanted to play a game in the most sinister ass voice that has ever existed. If that hadn’t set alarm bells ringing they deserve to die!” Zack had turned to look at him with his mouth open in shock.  
“What?” Cloud said defensively.

  
“Ya kno, sometimes its hard to get a conversation out of you Spike...but put on a scary movie and you suddenly cant stop” the huge grin on the older boys face told him that he didn’t really mind.

  
“Well Im sorry obviously I demand higher quality from my preferred viewing” he teased right back, which earned him another round of tickles from Zack.

  
“Geez everybody’s a critic!”

  
It was such a lighthearted moment, so uncomplicated and full of joy and so so far away from the terrible despair he had felt a few hours earlier. He looked in his friends eyes and just got caught up in the pure, wholesome happiness that shone there and was overwhelmed with the feeling of gratitude.

  
“Zack...thank you for this, for being my friend. My world has just been...turned upside down, but the fact you care it...it means a lot”.

  
“You will get through this Spike”.

  
“When you say it...I feel like I could maybe believe it”.

  
“Hang on a sec” Zack got up and jogged out of the room, then came back a few moments later with a small package that he hands to him.  
“I got you this to celebrate...the exams, but I want you to have it anyway because I know you will be a SOLDIER someday” his voice filled with genuine belief... _belief in me._

  
Cloud slowly unwrapped it to find a leather gauntlet with 3 spaces to put materia into, he noted it looked similar to one Zack wore himself, the older boy must have caught the boys eyes moving between both gauntlets and grinned.

  
“I thought Id get one that looked like mine so that we matched when are out on missions together! We can be an unbeatable team!” It was said with such earnest, that Cloud genuinely felt his eyes well up, so he looked down at it again so Zack wouldn’t see. _You haven’t cried over failing the exams, do not cry in front of your friend_ he berated himself. He took a few moments to centre himself, which must have made Zack antsy.

  
“Do you not like it?” He had never heard Zack sound worried like that, vulnerable.

  
“I love it Zack!” he replies with as much conviction as he could muster as he hands the gauntlet back to the older boy, which caused a flash of confusion on his face so Cloud hurried on. “I want you to keep hold of it for me, give it back to me when I’ve earned my place next to you on missions, as a SOLDIER, as your _equal_ ”.

  
Zack nodded like he was trying to understand “I just thought it might cheer you up is s’all”. Cloud laid a hand over the top of his friends.

  
“It has, the fact you believe in me that much means everything. I will do everything I can to be worthy of it, I promise.” He gave his friend the best smile he could, one people very rarely got to see.

  
“Aw Spike come ‘ere” next thing he knows Zack pulls him into the warmest hug and for once, Cloud just lets his walls come completely down, and just melts into it. Its not what he usually likes, he’s never been one for physical contact or affection but with Zack it doesn’t feel so bad, maybe he’s been missing out on friendship and hugs all this time. _Better late than never to realise it I guess._

  
Even when the hug ends it kind of...doesn’t. They go back to watching the movie but one of Zacks arms remains around Clouds shoulders, keeping him cuddled into his friends side and eventually, drifting off to sleep this way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to use Essai’s name as the dorm mate because I wanted to stick to franchise friendly names, though I don't really know much about the Essai in the actual games.
> 
> Next chapter is going to have abit more action in so kinda nervous to write that!


End file.
